![]() Often, performance traditions use biwa music as interludes inserted between passages of sung narration. It has a uniquely expressive sound with the potential to create drama by powerfully plucked sets of notes interspersed with quieter passages. The Biwa performance style has been refined over the years so that it can create scenes and enhance imagery in such a manner as to bring stories to dramatic life before the audience. At the beginning of the 13th century, Heike biwa players began telling of tales of the rise and fall of the Taira clan in 12thC Japan. In the 9th century the Mõsõ (blind monks') biwa began to be used by blind musicians as an accompaniment to chanted religious texts and sutras. There is also evidence that other biwa instruments came from the Indian lute tradition. The biwa arrived in Japan from China and Korea approximately 1300 years ago, with what is still Japan’s orchestra of the court, Gagaku. During the latter half of the 20th century, many Japanese composers contributed very creative pieces for this instrument. She also performs on bass koto, a much larger instrument than the 13-string koto, with 17 strings. Yoko, as a result, performs many different genres of music on the koto, from traditional sankyoku to modern Japanese compostions, to contempory atonal music. century, the scope of traditional Japanese music was widened to include new forms of melody, deepening the expressive possibilities of the koto. With the advent of the Meiji era in the late 19th. Traditionally, Japanese string musicians are trained from an early age in koto, shamisen and singing voice. Those originating on shamisen are called jiuta. Compositions originating on koto are called sõkyoku. The traditional sankyoku ensemble consists of shamisen, koto and shakuhachi flute. Yoko Hiraoka was trained many years in the traditional classical forms of 17th-19th century ensemble music. Since it has moveable bridges, it can be tuned to a wide variety of applications. Koto music is the most recognisable melodic sound of Japan. Thus a large body of fine contemporary Japanese compositions now exists for the instrument. ![]() Since the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), and with the new influence of Western musical thought, the koto has proved to be very versatile as an instrument with which to explore new musical forms. ![]() Music making was one of the allowed professions for blind people and was partially subsidized by the government. This was a tremendously active period in the arts and many parallel genres of music evolved. Later in the Edo period (1603-1868) the koto joined the shamisen in small chamber ensembles. The oldest existing repertoire for the koto outside of Gagaku dates back to the end of the 16th century. Introduced from China in about the eighth century AD, the koto was originally part of the court orchestra called Gagaku. Higher pitches can be created by pressing down to varying degrees on strings behind the bridges. The player has tsume (plectra) attached to three fingers and strums and plucks the strings. This arrangement creates a harp-like instrument which is traditionally played at floor level by a kneeling musician. It does not store any personal data.One of the more recognizable instruments of Japan, the koto consists of a 6 foot long shallow resonating box (made from Paulownia wood) with a set of thirteen strings stretched over movable ivory bridges. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. ![]() The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". ![]() The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. ![]()
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